Black Widow at the Box Office!

[JB33]

Commenting really late on this but when assessing the BLACK WIDOW drops, one only needs to look at that first Saturday. That's the root of it all. Opening day was a triumph and then it collapsed. Saturday ($23,305,929) dropped 11.4% from TRUE Friday ($26,310,446). That's rough by Marvel standards even during Covid.

Now, I'm not pointing to the quality of the movie as the cause of this. That's subjective. This is most likely due to Disney+ PA. Still, it was tough to stomach.

 

[zephyrinthesky]

I think the difference in reception between Black Widow and Shang-Chi is pretty glaring. It's not just mere opinion to think that Black Widow had far fewer repeat purchases in large part because of that.

I know I turned down an invite to see it a second time strictly because of its quality.

 

[Zyraquis]

Yeah I paid PA but couldn’t drum up enough interest to have a second viewing. Somehow it just lacks the charm for me. Shang Chi I will probably see as soon as I can after it is dropped on D+ in 1.5 months.

 

[TheVileOne]

Its a hit in these times.

It's the highest grossing film at the domestic box office this year. How is it not a hit? Had it not been released on Disney+ Premier Access, it probably would've done even more money in theaters. They cannibalized its box office.

 

[JB33]

It's the highest grossing film at the domestic box office this year. How is it not a hit? Had it not been released on Disney+ Premier Access, it probably would've done even more money in theaters. They cannibalized its box office.

That's why he said "it's a hit in THESE times".

 

[TheVileOne]

That's why he said "it's a hit in THESE times".

It's a hit period.

 

[TheVileOne]

I think the difference in reception between Black Widow and Shang-Chi is pretty glaring. It's not just mere opinion to think that Black Widow had far fewer repeat purchases in large part because of that.

I know I turned down an invite to see it a second time strictly because of its quality.

Black Widow didn't have an exclusive theatrical window for 45 days. Disney was already making it available on premier access day of release. This shouldn't be ignored, especially when Disney is claiming it made about $125 million from Disney+ purchases.

 

[JB33]

It's a hit period.

Uh....no.

 

[TheVileOne]

Uh....no.

Yes.

 

[psylockolussus]

You only couldn't say it isn't a hit when its released in pre pandemic times. Black widow if I'm not mistaken, received that 200 million production budget before Disney knew theaters would eXperience what would happen starting March of 2020.

It earned more or less 350 million in theaters (without a China release) + 100 million more from Premier Access.

You gotta adjust your definition of a "hit" in the situation of the world. We definitely know that it would have earned so much if it was released in normal times. And even before the pandemic, that 182 million Black Widow got in North America would have greenlit so many sequels (especially to dead franchises)

 

[Mysteryman]

When talking about Black Widow's Box office,
We have to be be sure to mention two factors.
First, Many International Markets are still closed.
Secondly,Black Widow had no China release.
Also,
I think one of the reasons Bob Chapek Is reluctant to renegotiate with Scarjo is that her current contract probably calls for her to be paid bonuses if the movie hits certain benchmarks Like $400 million,500 million, and so on.
Well if you keep her contract as it is, with the pandemic slowing down the box office,
Chapek doesn't have to pay Scarjo.
However If you renegotiate her contract and throw in streaming, Chapek probably will have to pay her at least one of those bonuses.

 

[Mysteryman]

Don't get me wrong.
I am THRILLED that An Excellent movie like Shang Chi is doing so well.
But it kind of bothers me that they are talking about about it having a better hold than Black Widow.
Of course it does.
Shang Chi is a straight theatrical release.
As we have seen recently, that makes a difference.
Black Widow did not have that opportunity.

 

[Prison Mike]

Is it the general consensus that Black Widow made profit? If the production budget was $200 million and the rule of thumb is that it needs to earn double the budget to break even then it needed to earn $400 million. Since it earned close to $500 million, then it probably made $100 million profit?

 

[Web-Head]

Is it the general consensus that Black Widow made profit? If the production budget was $200 million and the rule of thumb is that it needs to earn double the budget to break even then it needed to earn $400 million. Since it earned close to $500 million, then it probably made $100 million profit?

Well, I'm sure the delays didn't help and the extra money they probably spent on advertising, etc. It's probably closer to 75 million or so

 

[Mysteryman]

Well, I'm sure the delays didn't help and the extra money they probably spent on advertising, etc. It's probably closer to 75 million or so

It is a pity that we will never see OFFICIAL numbers to know for sure.

 

[TheVileOne]

Don't get me wrong.
I am THRILLED that An Excellent movie like Shang Chi is doing so well.
But it kind of bothers me that they are talking about about it having a better hold than Black Widow.
Of course it does.
Shang Chi is a straight theatrical release.
As we have seen recently, that makes a difference.
Black Widow did not have that opportunity.

It bothers me a lot of movies didn't get a fair shake and had day and date streaming releases, like The Suicide Squad, which I also really liked. But you know, there's nothing else that can be done at this point. What's done is done.

 

[Mysteryman]

It bothers me a lot of movies didn't get a fair shake and had day and date streaming releases, like The Suicide Squad, which I also really liked. But you know, there's nothing else that can be done at this point. What's done is done.

Sadly, that is All Too True.

 

[psylockolussus]

It bothers me a lot of movies didn't get a fair shake and had day and date streaming releases, like The Suicide Squad, which I also really liked. But you know, there's nothing else that can be done at this point. What's done is done.

For me, WW84 is the most disappointing.

WB could have delayed it to March even if they send it to HBO MaX at the same day, and it wasn't like they had multiple DC films ready to be released for 2021.

 

[Iceman]

Black Widow didn't have an exclusive theatrical window for 45 days. Disney was already making it available on premier access day of release. This shouldn't be ignored, especially when Disney is claiming it made about $125 million from Disney+ purchases.

That $125m should almost be added on, or added like some kind of footnote. The numbers themselves don’t tell the story at all.

 

[JB33]

That $125m should almost be added on, or added like some kind of footnote. The numbers themselves don’t tell the story at all.

I know what you mean, but I wouldn't want them added on. They're not box office dollars so they shouldn't be added to box office. But streaming dollars should be right beside box office dollars so that, like you said, people can get the full accurate picture of how successful the film was.